//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: A Royal Appointment // Story: To Earn One's Wings // by HollowPony //------------------------------// To Earn One’s Wings Chapter Seven: A Royal Appointment Thunderbolt felt solid ground underneath his hooves. Part of him felt relieved about that. It made being blinded and deafened by Discord’s magic easier. Still, he readied himself for a fight. He doubted that Discord had sent him anywhere pleasant. He grit his teeth and gathered magic in his horn. He would rip the first threat he saw to shreds. When Thunderbolt’s vision cleared he saw not a threat, but an amused smile beneath an equally amused set of pale magenta eyes. Princess Celestia. Thunderbolt quickly lowered his head. “Your Majesty,” he breathed. He heard a serene chuckling. It was like the sound of bells.  “Rise, Mr Stormbringer.”  Thunderbolt lifted his head and took a good look at the Princess before him. She was sitting behind her sturdy mahogany desk with her wings spread and a serene smile on her face. Her rainbow mane that usually seemed to be flowing in the breeze hung limply around her head. Behind her was a clear window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Through it, the moon could be seen. It framed Celestia’s face like that of a saint in the stained glass in the old Cathedrals. Movement below Celestia’s desk drew Thunderbolt’s eye. Whipping his head toward it he stared into a pair of violet eyes. Aurum had poked her head around the filigreed back of one of the chairs in front of Celestia’s desk. She looked tired. Deep bags were under her eyes and her mane was tied into an unkempt ponytail. When she saw Thunderbolt a slight blush formed on her cheeks and she waved shyly. Thunderbolt rushed to her side.  “Are you ok? You’re not hurt, are you?” “No. I’m just tired. I haven’t been sleeping well. What happened to you? You were in a coma when I left the hospital.”  “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad that you’re ok. What are you doing here?” Thunderbolt asked gruffly. Some part of him assumed that she had already hopped onto a train to Manehattan and was sipping cocktails with friends and gossiping about the ponies that came into the store or whatever it was that Manehattan jewellers did in their free time.  “I called her here,” Celestia answered for Aurum. “Just like I arranged your presence,” she indicated the chair to Aurum’s left. “Take a seat.” Thunderbolt narrowed his eyes at her. “What do you mean ‘arranged your presence?’” Celestia sighed. “I half expected Discord to blab about me asking him for help.” “Oh no, he certainly blabbed. I’m not asking about that. I’m asking if you arranged my arrest.” The princess arched an incredulous eyebrow. “If I could simply arrange your arrest why would I need outside help to get you into my office? It was your arrest that forced me to go to Discord.” “And why would my arrest do that? What do you want with me?” “That will be explained in time. We still have to wait for one more individual before we can begin in earnest,” Celestia said, pointing to the empty chair. “Would you like some tea while we wait?” The princess lifted a white teapot decorated with red roses.  “No thanks,” Thunderbolt answered. Discord’s antics had put him off of tea for the foreseeable future.  “Could I get another cup, please?” Aurum asked, lifting the cup in her hooves. Her voice held an exhausted tinge to it. Something about that made Thunderbolt worry about her. “Certainly,” Celestia answered with a bright smile. While she poured the tea Thunderbolt allowed his eyes to wander around the room.  On Celestia’s desk lay papers neatly stacked next to a photo frame that was turned to her. On the opposite side was a gilded tea try with the white teapot decorated with red roses. Next to the teapot sat two teacups of a similar design. Built into the right wall of the office was a bookcase lined with books thick and thin. Some titles shone from the spines like veins of gold in a cliff face while others were dull and faded by time. On the other end of golden frames lined the wall. These frames contained photos ranging from monochromatic black and whites to the colourful photos of more modern times. They depicted Celestia through the ages. One showed Celestia surrounded by a group of stern-faced ponies in black and white suites. In the next one, she was surrounded young fillies with flower crowns on their heads. One crown was even dangling from Celestia’s ear. Another photo showed her with a group of aged mares who were all knitting. A photo of her holding a mug of ale in the air along with a bunch of teenaged colts and fillies hung next to one where Celestia was standing next to a grave.  “I see you like to spend time with your adoring subjects, Your Majesty,” Thunderbolt chuckled. “What do you mean?” Celestia asked. Thunderbolt indicated the photos on the wall with his head. “You must love us dearly if you line the wall of your office with pictures of your subjects.” “They are not my subjects,” she said with a wistful smile. Thunderbolt raised an eyebrow. “They are my family.” “Your family?” Thunderbolt and Aurum asked in unison.  “Yes, my family,” Celestia echoed their words with a good-natured smile like a teacher that has heard the same question from students for years.  “You know, some part of me thought that you wouldn’t want a family,” Thunderbolt mused. “Doesn’t your near-immortality mean that they would always die while you just kept living?” “True, but I’m still a mare, you know,” Celestia chuckled. “Even I desire companionship and the concubines of my peers had held seemed shallow.” “So you got married rather than keep a harem of concubines,” Thunderbolt grunted. “Exactly.” “But Princess,” Aurum spoke up. “Doesn’t it hurt to see them die? It still hurts when I think of my dad’s death. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose someone like a husband.” “I’ve watched my husbands and children grow old and die. I mourned each of them. It’s not easy and it’s never pleasant, but…” Celestia grew silent. She stared into her cup of tea. Almost like she was looking for the right words in the amber liquid. She lifted her head and looked Aurum straight in the eye. “You simply have to learn to live with it.” “Was it worth it?” Thunderbolt asked. He stared into her pale magenta eyes. Happiness and sadness washed over those eyes as Celestia pondered the question. Memories of great happiness and great sorrow filled her mind. “Undoubtedly,” she proclaimed, her face lighting up with happiness. “Each relationship is precious and my long life has made me realize that each second is something to be treasured.” “Hmm, I guess that’s –” Thunderbolt started to respond. His ear twitched as he heard a scratching noise to his left. “Did you hear that?” he asked, his eyes scanning wall and floor for an indication of whatever made the noise.  “No, I didn’t,” Aurum whispered, a tinge of fear slithering into her tired voice. Celestia calmly sipped her tea.  Suddenly a piece of the wall burst open and a tiny white blur shot from the hole with an unholy screech. Thunderbolt lit his horn. A giant silver-blue circle lined with magical runes and shapes appeared between the desk and the white shape. From its edges a silver-blue wall of energy spread, splitting the office in half. The white shape slammed into the wall. The wall reflected the energy with which the shape hit it back and the shape flew backwards. The shape shakily got back onto its legs. Now that the shape had stopped moving Thunderbolt could make out what it was. It was a foal. A foal with tears that streamed from its bright blue eyes. A foal with a blond mane parted by a horn and a white coat. It didn’t even have a cutie mark yet.  “Could you drop the force field,” Celestia ordered politely. “It is just my daughter,” She stood up from her chair with a concerned look on her face. She walked over to her daughter and scooped her up into her hooves. “What happened, my darling?” she cooed.  “T-t-there w-w-was a m-m-monster, m-m-mommy,” the foal stammered. “Where was the monster, darling?” Celestia asked in the softly. “I-i-it was in the castle and it big and mean and scary!” the foal cried. “Shhh,” Celestia cooed, squeezing her child. “Mommy’s here. She’ll protect you.” The filly snuggled into Celestia’s fur, feeling safe and secure in her mother’s hooves. Then the sound of doors creaking open reached her ears. Her head whipped toward the noise. Her eyes widened and she burrowed herself into her mother’s side with as squeak as if she was trying to hide from the thing she saw. The rest of the room turned their heads to the door as well. In the door, surrounded by guards in their shining golden barding, stood a dragon, muzzled and shackled. He was twice the size of the guards around him. His emerald eyes glittered with annoyance.  Celestia bent down and whispered something into her daughter’s ear. The filly nodded and detached herself from her mother reluctantly. With a deep breath, she started running from the room, making herself as small as possible as she squeezed through the door the dragon stood in. Celestia stood up and spread her wings. “Leave us,” Celestia ordered. “Escort my daughter to her room and then return to your regular duties.” “But Your Majesty,” one of the guards started protesting. Celestia cut him off with a glare. He bowed his head and left the room with his fellow guardsmen. Celestia lit her horn with a pale gold aura and started undoing the dragon’s shackles. “Is that wise?” Thunderbolt protested. Celestia glanced at him. “This is the individual we’ve been waiting for.” “Ah, I see.”  Once the dragon was released Celestia walked over to her desk, sat down in her chair and gave the dragon a hard look. “Take a seat, Mr Char” she barked at the dragon.  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Char said in a voice like that of a chronic smoker. He plopped himself down on the remaining chair and started rubbing his jaw. Thunderbolt could sense a defiant pride in this dragon. Despite being shackled and muzzled this dragon still held on to the stubborn pride that was endemic to the dragon race. “That muzzle was rather uncomfortable.” “Well, you did try to burn down my library,” Celestia replied coldly. “Impossible,” Thunderbolt cut in. “That dragon was ten time his size.” Char started shaking. A deep growling laugh that filled the office. “What’s so funny?” “Dragons can alter their size, whelp,” the dragon answered. “It is part of our… what did those pony scholars call it… ah, yes, our magic,” the dragon smiled, revealing the row of dagger-like teeth set in his jaw. “It’s how I arrived at the library unnoticed.” “You almost killed us,” Aurum piped in. Char snorted. “No scales off my back.”  “Focus,” Celestia barked. “I called you us here for a reason. Your bickering is wasting all of our time.”  “But…” Aurum started to respond. The princess gave her a pointed look. The pegasus’s protest died in her throat. “We can deal with this later,” Thunderbolt reassured her. He turned to Char. “And if we are going to be working together on whatever it is Celestia is going to ask of us I suggest you change your attitude about us.” Char glared right back at Thunderbolt. He snorted smoke from his nostrils. “I will not lower myself to work with or for ponies.” “That’s unfortunate,” Celestia said with a smile colder than a windigo’s heart. “The possibility that you would was the only thing preventing me from handing you over to Dragon Lord Torch.” “To Torch?” Char growled. Thunderbolt noticed a nervous glint in his eyes. He did not know who Dragon Lord Torch was, but if a dragon got nervous at the mention of his name then he must be strong even among dragons. “On what charges?”  “Illegal entry into Equestria, arson and attempted murder,” Celestia calmly listed out his crimes. “I do not relish doing this, but I must protect my country and I believe that you will play a part in that goal.” “Very well,” he muttered in a low growl. A green fire of hatred burned in his eyes. He pulled his upper lip back, revealing his fangs. Thunderbolt lit his horn in preparation for a fight if it came to it.  “So what did you call us for?” asked a small, tired, Manehattan accented voice. “I mean… you wouldn’t call us if it weren’t important, your majesty.” “Quite so,” Celestia confirmed. “And that brings us to our point. I have called you here to help fix a mess that you have collectively helped create.” “What mess would that be?” the dragon asked.  “The Sage,” Celestia answered. “On the night Mr Char attempted to turn one of my libraries to ash he performed a ritual that tore the veil between the material and spiritual realms. It is your job to locate, detain and bring him to Canterlot to be tried. If you are unable to do so you are authorized to eliminate him,” she slid three folders across the desk.  “What about the tear in the veil?” Thunderbolt asked. She waved off the question with a hoof. “The Royal Mages will deal with that. All that you have to do is find and capture The Sage.”  “Would it not be easier to just kill this pony?” Char suggested with a sneer. “It would permanently solve your problem.”  “It would, but I do not want him dead. I want him to face justice for his crimes and I do not believe sending assassins after him would really be justice.” Celestia sighed. “Besides, I already tried that. I found their heads hanging from the chandelier in my throne room.” Thunderbolt licked his lips. “And you expect us to, what? Succeed where they failed?” “No. I expect you to do better. They were merely tasked with killing the Sage. You must bring him in alive.”  “Let’s say we fail? Or don’t accept this job in the first place?”  “If you do not do this you will be put on trial for the massacre in the cathedral. You will almost certainly found guilty. And the sentence will be death. Incidentally, I suspect that it was The Sage who arranged your arrest in the first place.” She glanced at Char. “Mr Char will be transported to the Dragon Lands to be tried in their courts. Dragon Lord Torch is not known for being merciful. Miss Aurum will simply be sent back home. There she will be killed by The Sage’s agents, either now because she is a witness that can be used against him or later when whatever he plans for Equestria comes to fruition. As for failure, if you attempt this task and fail, at best you will be killed at The Sage’s hooves or survive long enough to see Equestria torn apart. The Sage believes me weak and unfit to rule. He would take my place and turn Equestria into what he believes it should be: a cold, efficient, and ruthless empire.” “I realize that my life could be on the line,” Char said with a hint of defiance. “But why should a dragon care about a pony overthrowing his pony government?” “Because once he has moulded Equestria into whatever he wishes, he will set his sights beyond, starting, I suspect, with the Dragon Lands.” Char snorted. “A pony will never succeed in conquering them.”  “That belief will not stop him. In fact, it will only encourage him.” “Why? What does The Sage hope to gain?”  “Power, I suppose. He seems obsessed with dominating others. I suspect that he would try to oppose God directly if he could.”  “How do you know all this?”  “What few of his agents we’ve managed to capture become rather talkative once the right… pressure is applied. Anything else is pure conjecture.” “I see,” Thunderbolt muttered. His brow furrowed as he processed the information he had just been given.  “W-Why don’t you just send the guard after them? Are- Aren’t they supposed to handle this sort of thing?” Aurum squeaked.   “Yeah, why send us to deal with this?” Thunderbolt agreed. “Don’t you have half a dozen agencies to deal with someone like this?” “And I trust none of them in this, which is why I arranged for Discord to drop you off here and had a handpicked set of guards bring Char here under the pretence of negotiating a sentence,” Celestia answered. “Half of the ponies murdered in the cathedral were civil servants from across Equestria. The other half were members of various NGOs. They even had enough power to kidnap the pony I sent to investigate them.” “Rough Diamond, right?” Thunderbolt asked. “How do you know that name?” Celestia asked. “He hired me to get the tome The Sage wanted,” Thunderbolt revealed.  “Diamond was working for The Sage? That’s troubling,” Celestia mused. “That’s even more reason for me to hire outside agents.” Thunderbolt grew silent for a moment. Aurum’s chair creaked as she fidgeted. Smoke drifted from Char’s nostrils as he glared at Celestia.  “Why don’t you do it? When dragons speak of Celestia they speak of a goddess able to use the power of the sun to destroy her enemies. Yet the pony I see before me does not seem willing or able to do so. Were those stories lies?” Celestia chuckled. “No, but they are exaggerations. As powerful as I am my title does restrict me. If I were to move against The Sage directly, he would be able to react far quicker than I could move.” “So you expect us to do what you can’t?”  “Essentially. And I must insist that you remain discreet. The Sage seems to have eyes and ears everywhere.” Thunderbolt raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it possible that he knows what we’re planning?”  “It is possible, but…” Celestia sighed. “I am out of real options. I can only pray that he doesn’t. Or if he does, that he doesn’t think it important enough to pay any serious attention to.”   Thunderbolt took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Well shit. Doesn’t seem like there are many alternatives.” Thunderbolt narrowed his eyes at Celestia. “So, what’s the payment?” he asked cautiously. “If we accept this job, that is.” Aurum stared at him in shock. “Payment? The country is on the line. Is asking to be paid to save it really appropriate?” Thunderbolt shrugged. “Sure. And I am sure that I’ll need to eat if and when we succeed. Besides, isn’t it reasonable to expect compensation for work done?” “Quite so, Mr Stormbringer,” Celestia agreed. “The assassins were offered 10 million Bits. How about we start negotiating there?” “10 million…,” Thunderbolt said, a hoof rubbing his chin. “How about we start at 10 million Bits apiece plus expenses? I mean, you are asking us to outperform your assassins.” “Done,” Celestia responded. “There have been reports of magical anomalies around the Everfree forest. I would suggest starting your search there.” “How are we to get there?” Char asked. “Do you expect me to carry these ponies on my back?” “Please don’t,” Aurum muttered. “There is no need,” Celestia smiled and slid three pieces of paper across the desk. “There is a train to a town at the edge of the forest called Ponyville leaving in an hour. If you leave now you will have enough time to secure some seats on it. I have someone I trust in Ponyville; he will be meeting you at the train station.” Celestia pointed her hoof to the section of wall the foal had shot out from. “It would be best to leave through the castle’s secret passages. Just keep to the right.” “Very well,” Char growled and slithered from his seat. “I guess that means we are taking the job,” Thunderbolt chuckled as he jumped out of his chair. Aurum dragged herself out of the chair with a nod and the trio set off toward the hole in the wall.  Alone in her office, Celestia bowed her head, closed her eyes and started to pray.